Eric Wilfred Taylor (6 August 1909 – 1999) was a British artist and teacher. Although he had a long career encompassing painting, printmaking and the production of sculptures, murals, and ceramics, he is now perhaps best known for the works he created during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in particular the paintings he produced when he was among the British troops that liberated the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...

Biography

Taylor was born in London, went to school in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

and studied art at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. In 1935 he was awarded a prize at the International Print Exhibition in Chicago. Taylor worked as a visiting lecturer at both the

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgradu ...

and at the Willesden School of Art from 1936 until the start of the Second World War. In 1939 Taylor enlisted in the British Army and eventually served as a sergeant in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. He took part in the Allied invasion of Europe and the subsequent advance across France, the Netherlands and then into Germany. During the Allied advance, although not an official war artist, Taylor sketched when his military duties allowed. He depicted groups of refugees, members of the Dutch resistance and the aftermath of the Battle of the Falaise Gap. At

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). History The city was fi ...

he was allowed to sketch the Nazi leader

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head of ...

in his prison cell shortly after his capture. In April 1945, Taylor's unit was among the first troops to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Taylor painted a number of watercolours at the camp. Initially, his compositions showed massed piles of bodies but increasingly he turned to depicting individual survivors. The

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

purchased several of his wartime pictures and they are now held by the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

. In 1997, Taylor presented 26 examples of his World War Two paintings to the library at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. After the war, Taylor resumed teaching at the Willesden School of Art and also worked at the

Central School of Art The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cra ...

. In 1949, he left both posts and moved to Leeds to become head of the design school at the

Leeds College of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Schoo ...

. In 1956 he was promoted to principal of the college, and when parts of that college became part of

Leeds Polytechnic Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The unive ...

in 1969, he became a deputy director of that institution. He held that post until his retirement in 1971. In 1965 Taylor completed a large mosaic mural for an outside wall of the Merrion Shopping Centre in Leeds. In 2015 these murals were renovated and relocated to a position at the Leeds College of Art. Taylor exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

and the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and had a number of solo shows, mostly in the north of England.

References

External links

*
Works by Taylor in the Imperial War Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Eric 1909 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Academics of Camberwell College of Arts Academics of the Central School of Art and Design Academics of Leeds Arts University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from London British Army personnel of World War II British male painters British war artists People associated with Leeds Beckett University Royal Artillery soldiers Royal Engineers soldiers World War II artists